Your Highness Movie Review ..

Throughout history, tales of chivalry have burnished the legends of brave, handsome knights who rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. But behind many a hero is a good-for-nothing younger brother trying just to stay out of the way of those dragons, evil, and trouble in general. As two princes on a daring mission to save their land, they must rescue the heir apparent’s fiancée before their kingdom is destroyed. Thadeous (Danny McBride) has spent his life watching his perfect older brother Fabious (James Franco) embark upon valiant journeys and win the hearts of his people.

Tired of being passed over for adventure, adoration, and the throne, he’s settled for a life of wizard’s weed, hard booze, and easy maidens. But when Fabious’ bride-to-be, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), gets kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), the king gives his deadbeat son an ultimatum: Man up and help rescue her or get cut off. Half-assedly embarking upon his first quest, Thadeous joins Fabious to trek across the perilous outlands and free the princess. Joined by Isabel (Natalie Portman), an elusive warrior with a dangerous agenda of her own, the brothers must vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights before they can reach Belladonna. If Thadeous can find his inner hero, he can help his brother prevent the destruction of his land. Stay a slacker and not only does he die a coward, he gets a front row seat to the dawn of an all-new Dark Age.

Your Highness is a film that is stack to the brim with talented actors and actress ready to go the distance to bring this fantasy comedy to completion, but a film needs a lot more than a great caste to go the distance these days. The fact about Your Highness is that the target audience is so small that there really wasn’t much chance for this film from its initial concept phase. Your Highness is actually a throwback to fantasy films of the eighties that were widely watched but also quite terrible like Krull, Beastmaster, Master of the Universe, or even Dungeons and Dragons, which are all films that us late twenty early thirty kids watched in the mid to late eighties.

Plus this is a comedy that is co-written by actor Danny McBride, so another test to decide if you will like this film is whether or not you have seen or like his HBO show East Bound and Down because if your answer is “no”, then this is a movie to avoid. I’m not writing this to scare anyone away, but it is important to know what type of film this is before trying to critique it. The fact is that it is not a good movie for many reasons, but because I am a fan of the comedy, and more so of Danny McBride as an actor, I found the film to be quite funny, but I know for a fact that I am in the minority.

Its easy to say that the acting throughout Your Highness is bad, but that’s mainly because of its roots in bad fantasy films of the 1980’s. Danny McBride has had plenty of time to develop the persona that informs nearly all his roles: the lazy, libidinous, foul-mouthed, egotistical, none-too-bright layabout with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement. Thadeous, his character in Your Highness, is essentially Eastbound and Down’s Kenny Powers with a bad British accent and a chain-mail vest. Even though it is his typical character, he pulls it off so easily that it seems he isn’t even trying anymore, which is a great compliment in comedy films these days. James Franco and Natalie Portman are both perfect clichés of characters found in every past fantasy films, and they pull off their roles to perfection.

James Franco eagerly imbues with the chivalrous self-seriousness of every ’80s fantasy hero crossed with a laid-back surfer cool, and Natalie Portman plays a mysterious warrior as attractive as she is deadly, sworn to stop the sorcerer for her own reasons. Sounds familiar I hope because it really isn’t anything new, and the only reason that it is good is because it is so bad. It is widely agreed that excess of anything is a bad thing, but there is a point where the vastness to so great that all you can do is stand bad and laugh. That is the point that the entire film of Your Highness is striving towards, and it is fantastic to watch assuming you are interested in the genre from the very beginning.

Although I really loved this film, I can’t just rush out and recommend it to everyone. The fact remains that there is only a small number of people who will enjoy this film based on the tribute to the eighties, the low brow slacker comedy, or for the typical Danny McBride character, but for the most part not many people are going to like this film. A comedy that most people did like a lot was the film The Hangover, and to put Your Highness in comparison to that film, you would have to remove two of the main characters from Hanover to make it a fair fight. If you compare the film to other slacker fantasy comedies, it is easy to say that it is a much better film than bother Year One (2009) and Land of the Lost (2009). It may be one of the worst films of the year thus far, a title that will no doubt make it most of the year, but it is one of the funniest films I have seen this year. Just another warning though: If you hate this type of comedy, you will not like this film, so don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

Your Highness Movie Trailer

Battle: Los Angeles Review ..

After decades of speculation about life on other planets, the people of Earth discover that extraterrestrials really do exist when destruction rains down from the stars on cities all across the globe. When the alien warships descend upon Los Angeles, however, the ferocious invaders discover that humankind won’t go down without a fight as a gruff Marine staff sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) and his fearless troop of jarheads point their weapons skyward and make one last stand for the entire human race. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected.

There has always been a strong fascination with aliens attacking the world in various Hollywood films. Perhaps it’s the idea that perhaps somewhere out there actually are other life forms beyond our planet, but I think the more likely reason for the fascination with these films is that it takes an unstoppable force, technologically advanced aliens, and force them to fight the strong willed, American soldier that always finds a way to win.

The heart and soul to these films is about the constitution of the men and women that take it upon themselves to save the lives of the innocent civilians that couldn’t otherwise protect themselves. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it. The fact is that the alien invasions genre is one of the most over used genres in the history of cinema, and for every good film made, there are dozens of Battle: Los Angeles quality films. Just from the cheesy title alone, you can tell that Battle: Los Angeles is not going to be a good movie, but even though it was bad, I have to admit that it was pretty fun.

The main problem with Battle: Los Angeles is that it couldn’t come to terms as to what type of film it actually was. Throughout the film, there is a constant battle of genres between the war genre and the science fiction genre. As a war film, Battle: Los Angeles is actually a pretty decent film even if every war cliché that has ever appeared is intact in this film. To give the audience the feeling that they are living the action taking place on the screen, most of the movie is shot with a “shaky” handheld cam that constantly jerks from person to person. Most of the time, the script forgets its science-fiction campaign and just concentrates on being a war movie.

The issue is that in the end, this is a science fiction, but whenever you are reminded of this fact, the movie turns bad in a heartbeat. If you think you’re going to see all kinds of cool space aliens and learn why they want to invade earth, you will be disappointed. When the film starts, the invasion is already underway, and after more than 45 minutes have passed without a real look at the aliens, and by the time they finally came close enough to get a decent look, it wasn’t much of a moment. In the end, a lot of stuff gets blown up, some people get “zapped”, and all sorts of weapons are used to liberate the free world. While it may not be as bad as last year’s Skyline, it also doesn’t come close to heights of War of the Worlds (2005) or District 9 (2009).

There is a point when you just have to feel bad for the city of Los Angeles because it doesn’t matter what the disaster happens to be, it has already happened to Los Angeles. For some reason, natural disasters and alien invasions only seem to take place in Los Angeles, and thankfully, no one of any importance lives in Los Angeles. The worst part is that Los Angeles has been the subject of so many bad science fiction movies that you would think it would be taboo by now to set disaster films in this city.

It’s too bad that the makers of this film could effectively combine the two genres into one great science fiction film because even though it was bad, it actually was quite fun. And in all honestly, there was a few positives throughout the film as the camera work during the battle sequences was quite good, and as the lead in the film Aaron Eckhart give a solid performance. The thing holding this film back is that there simply weren’t enough positives to make it a decent film and the plot was more or less completely unoriginal. Battle: Los Angeles is one film that should be avoided at all costs, but if you are intrigued, it will be available for rental before you know it.

Battle: Los Angeles Movie Trailer

Rango Movie Review ..

A pet chameleon escapes the confines of a cozy glass terrarium to discover adventure beyond his wildest imagination in this animated Western adventure. When we first meet Rango (Johnny Depp), the sheltered pet chameleon is safe in his terrarium, and embarking on epic adventures through the power of imagination. Then, suddenly, his safe existence is irrevocably upended thanks to a bump in the road that sends him soaring out of a car window and right onto the searing-hot asphalt of a desert highway.

On the advice of a wise armadillo who relays the story of the Spirit of the West, our conical-eyed hero sets out in search of a town called Dirt, and encounters a self-sufficient pioneer named Beans (Isla Fisher) along the way. Upon arriving in the dusty desert town, Rango wanders into the local bar and convinces the townspeople that he’s a notorious gunslinger with a lightning-fast trigger finger. Convinced that Rango is the real deal, the Mayor (Ned Beatty) decides to name the brave chameleon their new sheriff.

But Rango’s honeymoon in Dirt is short-lived when bandits steal the town’s entire supply of water, and the newly christened sheriff forms a posse in order to get it back. Little do they realize they were all being manipulated by one greedy power-monger who’s determined to keep the people of Dirt under his thumb with the help of a diabolical villain named Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy) whose Gatling-gun tail makes Swiss cheese of all challengers. Now, if Rango can just locate the Spirit of the West (Timothy Olyphant) and summon the courage to realize his true potential, perhaps he can finally free the people of Dirt from the tyranny that binds them, and discover his true destiny under the scorching desert sun.

While Rango may not be the most original film around, it has a premise that is actually quite clever. Essentially, the entire film is about a Chameleon that can’t blend in with his surroundings at all but actually stands out like a sore thumb. Rango is actually a combination of western parody and a witty Chinatown homage, by way of a Hunter S. Thompson drug hallucination, with smart nods to film classics like The Wizard of Oz, Apocalypse Now, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. But like most “children” films being made these days, there is quite often a second layer to these films that can only be seen by adult audiences.

The problem with Rango is that the line between these two layers is quite small for the most part, and it is actually to the point where one would have to not recommend this movie for small children despite the fact that it is a PG “family” film. But for those older audience members, there is a lot going on in this film that will bring a smile to your face. Even though Johnny Depp has done more and more things as his career has moved forward, Rango is Depp at his most involved. Depp is verbally nimble and perhaps as far “out-there” as his characters have ever been. The connections to his earlier film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) are both clear and many. There’s a very cute moment where Depp’s Hawaiian-shirted lizard character bounces off the hood of the red convertible driven by the Hunter S. Thompson character Depp played in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Johnny Depp is in the part of his career where everything he seems to do is pure gold, and Rango is but another shining achievement on Depp’s near perfect record. The fact about Rango is that it simply works on such a perfect level because all of its many parts works perfectly together. The animation is top notch, the voice actors are fantastic even though they are perhaps the most random assortment of actors the studio could find, the characters are fresh and eccentric, and Rango has a simply fantastic plot, which may be a rip-off/homage to Chinatown. Rango is perhaps one of the best animated films to come out this year so far, and it is also a great family film.

The only warning I can give is that its jokes may be a bit too risky for young audiences, and quite frankly, the film is a lot stranger and complex than most kids can handle especially with Rango’s connections to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But for those that actually get the type of humour that runs throughout this film, there is actually a lot that Rango has to offer, and truth be told, it is a film that is worth a visit to a theatre to see on the big screen.

Rango Movie Trailer

The Lincoln Lawyer Movie Review ..

Based on the bestselling novel from author Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer is a leagel thriller featuring Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey) who is a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney that operates out of the back of his Lincoln sedan. Haller has spent most of his career defending garden-variety criminals who pay in cash, including a biker gang led by country music star Trace Adkins, he is always looking for the angles to squeeze more money out of his clients and he usually tries to make a deal before his mostly guilty defendants ever come to trial. He’s slick, charming and a bit sleazy around the edges. That is all, of course, until he lands the case of his career: defending Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a Beverly Hills playboy accused of rape and attempted murder. But Mickey soon discovers that he’s become ensnared in a twisted plot where no fee in the world is high enough to pay for the deadly workload, and his only hope of survival may just lay in his own skills as a long-practiced double-crosser.

The Lincoln Lawyer is yet one more reason why Matthew McConaughey should stick to making only drams for the rest of his career. It’s not a secret that McConaughey has had an up and down career due mainly to some dubious film choices, like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009), Failure to Launch (2006), and Fool’s Gold (2008), but the second you turn him into an attorney, think A Time to Kill (1996), and now in The Lincoln Lawyer, and he instantly comes to life on screen. What truly makes this a great film is that it is a whodunit and a thriller to begin with, but as the film progresses, you realize that it’s a character study of a lawyer who must grapple with his own set of ethics.

Doing the right thing may not be in his best interests as an attorney who defends criminals for a living. McConaughey is great as the lawyer forced to struggle with internal conflict while he also must solve a complicated series of crimes that include murder. Through this performance, McConaughey shows off more than just his perfect abs, something that has been shown off in all of his romantic comedies, by pulling off a superb performance with a considerable amount of depth that is quite understated. And like the story itself, which is rampant with slick twists that get in his way, he keeps the audience guessing about what his next move will be to counter them. He works within a framework of direction that is equally slick, solid performances throughout, and a script that gives the audience time to puzzle over what is happening, but that never drags through its two hours running time.

The great part about The Lincoln Lawyer is that all the parts work great together to form one fantastic whole, and one of the best “parts” of the film is the amazing cast of secondary characters. William H. Macy is great as Mick’s private investigator, Josh Lucas as the assistant district attorney unlucky enough to be prosecuting Louis, and Bryan Cranston, best known for Breaking Bad, as a police detective itching to put Mick away for the associate’s murder are all brilliant characters acted out by the best. While she had little to do throughout the film, Marisa Tomei has little to do but look sexy as Mick’s assistant-DA ex-wife, while Frances Fisher may have a bit too much opportunity to chew scenery as Louis’ overprotective mom. The fact is that there is plenty of star power fuelling this film, and they all give great performances that when paired with McConaughey form a fantastic film that is actually quite smart and enjoyable. With characters as strong as the ones present throughout The Lincoln Lawyer, there is a very good chance that we will see this character again in a second feature film.

So far this year, there hasn’t been many feature films that have reached wide audience appeal, but with the release of The Lincoln Lawyer, there is finally a good reason to go to the movie theatre. Even for those that aren’t interested in legal dramas, The Lincoln Lawyer is a film that is entertaining for everyone. Not only is the story quite complex and full of twists, but it is also a believable story. But the most impressing aspect of the film is the performance of Matthew McConaughey who is known lately for pulling off his shirt instead of pulling off a role. The fact is that as a dramatic actor, there is none better than Matthew McConaughey. I know, sounds ridiculous to me too, but his performances don’t lie. The problem is that he signs onto every terrible comedy romance he sees without thinking of his career. But like I said, he is great in The Lincoln Lawyer, and his supporting actors and actresses give equally solid performances that make for a well rounded film. Of all the films out there right now, the best on to see is The Lincoln Lawyer by a long shot.

The Lincoln Lawyer Movie Trailer

Sucker Punch Movie Review ..

Sucker Punch is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her much darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between reality and fantasy.

She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls to join her on her quest to freedom: The reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung). They must band together and try to escape a terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue (Oscar Isaac) and Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino), before the mysterious High Roller (Jon Hamm) comes for Babydoll.

The girls engage in fantastical warfare against everything from samurais to serpents with a virtual arsenal at their disposal. Together, they must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stay alive, and with the help of a Wise Man (Scott Glenn), their unbelievable journey-if they succeed-will set them free.

Sucker Punch is a dream come true for director Zack Snyder. Not only does he get to direct the film that he himself wrote, but since his wife is producing the film, he also has final cut of the film. So what it comes down to is that Zack Snyder got to make his film the way that he wanted to. As a result of his originality and artistry, we get the visual orgy entitled Sucker Punch. When this film was first running trailers on the internet, it looked like one of the most visually stunning films ever comprised.

Back then, the film was about six months from being released and even then I knew this was going to be a must see film. Unfortunately, there was a lot more weight behind the phrase “must see”. Just like Snyder’s past films, such as 300 (2007), Watchmen (2009), and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010), Sucker Punch is a visual masterpiece, but like all the others, offers little else in the way of plot or character development. The ultimate downfall to Sucker Punch is that unlike Snyder’s past films that were all adaptations that used developed and known characters, Sucker Punch is written by Zack Snyder himself, which is perhaps the reason why all the characters seemed so overwhelmingly flat and static.

The ultimate problem with Sucker Punch is that Zack Snyder never lets us in on the fact that deep down, Sucker Punch is just a teenage melodrama disguised as a genre film. Sure it’s a journey of the self, and the mission of a group of young women to take on robots and monsters, but they’re really all just metaphors.

Worst yet, all of these metaphors are meaningless and hold little relevance to the story beyond what is obvious. Throughout the film, there really isn’t any real delivery that hits the audience with an emotional punch, which means there’s no actual turmoil to be had from Sucker Punch. Instead it’s a long series of tear jerking confrontations with the evil staff of this boarding house, as our heroine, Baby Doll, finds herself embroiled in her own fantasies that collide her with samurais and machine gun rallying soldiers. Zack Snyder knows how to deliver a visual tour de force, so in that regard there’s nothing to complain about, but the complete lack of substance is a letdown for most of the film’s audience.

When it comes to Zack Snyder, there has been a growing consensus that his films are little more that fantastic visuals. While I have been a huge fan of his past films, and often defend them against those that criticise their lack of plot and characters, but when it comes to Sucker Punch, there is very little to defend. Sucker Punch holds almost no value except for its aesthetic value. On the plus side, Sucker Punch is perhaps one of the most visually brilliant films I have ever seen.

From its gothic beginnings to its multiple worlds of visual delights, Zack Snyder went out of his way to create a film that he wanted to create. It just so happens that he wanted to make a film featuring gorgeous women battling their way through their imaginations that are explosions of action, CGI, and special effects. While Sucker Punch definitely not for everyone, Snyder’s fan base will be quite pleased with his newest creation, and even though it is a film with more than a few serious problems, it was quite fun to see on the big screen.

Sucker Punch Movie Trailer

Red Riding Hood Movie Review ..

Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) is a beautiful young woman torn between two men. She is in love with Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), a brooding outsider, but her parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry (Max Irons). Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter are planning to run away together when they learn that Valerie’s older sister has been killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village.

For years, the people have maintained an uneasy truce with the beast by offering the creature a monthly animal sacrifice, but the wolf has upped the stakes by taking a human life. Hungry for revenge, the people call on famed werewolf hunter Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), to help them kill the wolf. But Solomon’s arrival brings unintended consequences as he warns that the wolf, who takes human form by day, could be any one of them. As the death toll rises with each moon, Valerie begins to suspect that the werewolf could be someone she loves. Panic grips the town as Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast that unavoidably draws them together, making her both suspect and bait.

The story behind Red Riding Hood dates back to somewhere around the seventeenth century, but is most widely known to be a part of the Brother’s Grimm’s collection of Fairy Tales and also Charles Perrault’s version entitled Le Petite Chaperone Rouge (Little Red Cap). The fact about this fairy tale is that we actually have no idea who originally wrote it or where in the world it initially came from, but for whatever reason, it is easily the most well known fairy tale known in most countries and cultures throughout the world. To add to the intrigue behind this simple children’s story, there are hundreds of different Red Riding Hood stories throughout the world that are all different in their own little ways.

This is a fascinating phenomenon that runs through most fairy tales, and when we study fairy tale, or folk tale, literature we call these “tale types” because there are hundreds of different Red Riding Hood tale types. So with this modern take on the classic Red Riding Hood tale, we actually have yet another Red Riding Hood Tale Type. The problem with this tale type is that it is made primarily for tween audiences around the world and is really nothing more than a shameful “Twilight” version of the classic tale.

This is one movie that was doomed the moment the movie trailer was released to the public. Even though it has a pretty interesting premise, and as someone who actually studied Red Riding Hood in literature class, I was quite intrigued when I first learned of this movie, but the second that movie preview was sent out my skin began to crawl because it looked to be exactly like the Twilight franchise.

The basic plot concerns itself with forbidden love between two people of different communities where Peter, played by Shiloh Fernandez, it the brooding outsider that everyone shies away from, and Valerie is nothing more than the typical teenager that has a far too complicated life. The film is actually directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the woman that directed the first Twilight film, who shamelessly blends together suspense and romance to the exact tone of that past vampire film. If you look close enough, you will also notice that the actor that plays the father of Valerie is none other than Billy Burke. Yes, that Billy Burke; The very same actor that played the father of Bella in the Twilight franchise.

Red Riding Hood is a film that is littered with issues but the only thing that Catherine Hardwicke is capable of doing is creating a moody mystery film based on the classic Red Riding Hood Tale type. In her defence, I have to admit that the imagery used throughout the film may have been a bit cheesy at times, but it was quite effective throughout and quite beautiful at the same time. On the other hand, there was hardly a moment where she was able to keep the acting in check long enough to make this a worthwhile film.

The best performance of the film would have to go to the red cape itself that is worn by Valerie because it had a lot more life in it than most of the film’s characters. Even the great Gary Oldman couldn’t act himself out of this mess, and I’m sad to say that he was forced to go down with the boat. In the end, what we have is a poorly made film that is obviously targeted at a specific audience, but utilizes the universally known Red Riding Hood story to draw in an audience. This is one film that you should simply avoid because it just has too much going against it, and just remember, if you have to see it, you will eventually be able to rent it for half the cost.

Red Riding Hood Movie Trailer

Paul Movie Reviews ..

The comedic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, best known for their lead roles in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, reunite for the comedy adventure Paul as two sci-fi geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America’s UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever.

For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town, which just happens to be a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy ( Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings ( Nick Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just transform his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

Seeing the faces of the great comedic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost should make you want to instantly see this film the second it is released. This is the same team that brought you the cult classic films Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007) that have since found great critical success. For those out there already fans of this comedy team, you will notice that there is an element missing from this comedy in the form of Edgar Wright. Edgar Wright was the screenwriter and director of both of the above films, but when it came time to direct Paul, his plate was already full with other projects.

So the question that lingers throughout this film is what kind of film would Paul be if Wright wrote and directed it instead of director Greg Mottola? This is a question that we will never be able to answer, but what we can say about Paul and director Mottola is that it was a pretty great comedic film. Although it is nothing more than speculation, I’d suspect a more clever satirical script to come from Wright, but what we got in the form of Paul is nothing to shrug off. Sure it won’t capture the cult status that was accomplished by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, but as it is, Paul is a great piece of “fan boy” sci-fi cinema. Of course no buddy film would be anything without the buddy of buddy films Seth Rogan, who lends his voice to the ETish alien Paul.

With Paul, which was written by comedic stars Pegg and Frost, although minus Edgar Wright, it seems like they’ve reached a point in their relationship with pop culture where they’re just going through the motions. You can clearly see the level of comfort that these two actor greats possess as they go about their “business as usual” routine in a completely nonchalant manner. Unlike their films Shaun of the Dead and Ht Fuzz that proved to be full on homage to their source materials, Paul on the other hand is a literal and spiritless spoof, with precise plotpoints that its characters travel through one at a time, that of course includes a few throw-ins from films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) or E.T. (1982).

It actually reads like an assignment into sci-fi pop culture, and plays like a Saturday Night Live spin-off movie. Like any true fan boy flick, Paul begins at the Mecca of fanboyism: the San Diego Comic-Con. Having lived the San Diego dream, best buds Graeme (Simon Pegg) and smalltime sci-fi writer Clive (Nick Frost) head out in a rented Winnebago to their ultimate bucket-list destination, Area 51, with a stop at the fabled Little A’Le’Inn, a Nevada rest-stop on the Extraterrestrial Highway that must be a perpetual goldmine for its owners.

This of course leads the friends to discover Paul, the wise-cracking variety of E.T., imagine Roger on the American Dad television show. He brings along the most powerful pot ever developed by the government as an icebreaker, which later turns out to be a necessary accessory since people have a tendency to faint when they meet him. But when push comes to show, this is one movie that has the text book fan boy ending that is very closely resembles that of E.T.

Although this is not one of the greatest comedies of all time, it is a comedy that will no doubt make it on to many top ten lists of favourite comedies. The problem with the film was that it was perhaps a little too hooky in some places that lowered the bar considerably from Simon Peg and Nick Frost’s past films that are now considered cult classics, which is perhaps a bit too unfair for Paul. Paul is a hilarious film that most people will have fun with because it is a great comedy and a well written one at that.

The problem that it faces at the box office is that it is a R rated “spoof” comedy about aliens, and there are many people that hate both spoof flicks and alien flicks. Perhaps the main drawing point for most audience members are the three lead actors being Simn Pegg, Nick Frost, and the always talented Seth Rogan. Let me say right now that if I ever meet an alien, I hope that he too has the laid back voice of Seth Rogan to ease me into abduction. That is not to say that the secondary characters weren’t also great.

The one-eyed Jesus-praising girl from a trailer home, played by Kristen Wiig, is absolutely hilarious as we watch her anti-evolutionary theories sarcastically shot down by Paul. Add John Carroll Lynch to the mix as Wiig’s insane gun-toting pappy who thinks his daughter’s been kidnapped by a demon and outruns the feds en route to saving her, plus a couple of goofball federal agents played by Bill Hader and Joe Lo Trugio, who don’t really know what they’re chasing and you may just be in for the time of your life. This is a film that has a lot going for it, and I’m sure you will enjoy it. Just remember that it is rated R, but it is by far the best comedy of the year thus far.

Paul Movie Trailer

Black Death Movie Review ..

The year is 1348 and Europe has fallen under the shadow of the Black Death. As the plague decimates all in its path, fear and superstition are run wild. In this apocalyptic environment, the church is losing its grip on the people, but there are rumors of a village, hidden deep within the marshland that the plague cannot reach. There is even talk of a necromancer who leads the village and is able to bring the dead back to life. Ulric (Sean Bean), a fearsome knight, is charged by the church to investigate these rumors, and as a guide, he enlists the aid of the novice monk, Osmund (Eddie Redmayne) to lead him and his band of mercenary soldiers to the marshland, but Osmund has other motives for leaving his monastery. Their journey to the village and events that unfold take them into the heart of darkness and to horrors that will put Osmund’s faith in himself and his love for God to the ultimate test.

I first discovered Black Death when a vintage movie poster was released for the film that featured classic indie-horror imagery that seemed to be a left over from an old 1970’s Grindhouse movie theatre. It was a film that I just had to see, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Throughout Black Death, director Christopher Smith uses desperation-fuelled religious fervor to examine the relationship between fear and faith. Although this alone creates an amazing film, he also uses it to inspire some truly gory battles and cringeworthy punishments. In a lot of ways, this is exactly like that dirty, low budget, gory film from forty years ago, but the style and vision of Christopher Smith makes this a truly great cinematic experience.

And even though it is a completely fictional film, there is a lot of truth lying beneath the surface of the film because the bubonic plague that decimated Europe’s population in the 14th century provided plenty of support for the notion of a higher power and at the same time, a lower one as well. God’s wrath and the devil’s malice seemed plausible explanations for such widespread loss of life, and it is this belief that is the motivation behind everything throughout Black Death. Through the oppressive darkness of Smith’s lens, we are able to experience firsthand what this was truly a monstrous time to have the misfortune of being alive. The plague might have been the Middle Ages’ deadliest killer by volume, but Black Death suggests that religious excess might have been the era’s most dangerous legacy.

Black Death is a film that has a great script that is both thought provoking and completely original, but it is the fantastic cast and well rounded characters that are its glue. Although none of the actors are big A-list actors by any stretch of the imagination, it seemed like each actor played their parts to absolute perfection. Sean Bean is perhaps one of the most unused and most forgotten actor around these days, but he always puts out a great performance despite his role.

The actor to watch for throughout this film is the young monk Osmund, played wonderfully by Eddie Redmayne, which is easily the best performance of his career. Not only did he act the character to perfection, but Osmund is also the focus of the film because of the dynamic nature of his character. The place that his character begins the film is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from where he is at the end of the film. The transformation is so unnerving that you would think it is a different character altogether by the end of the film, which makes for a very interesting film.

Truth be told, this is not a film for everyone. Black Death is a great film for a lot of reasons, but the part of the film that will turn off a lot of viewers is the amount of violence and gore present throughout the film. Credit should go to Smith also for going out of his way to not show all the gore that was present throughout the film because the sounds used to replace the imagery was much more effective than the alternative.

Thematically, the film sets itself miles away from other films being released at this time, and it is almost a guarantee that you will leave the movie theatre milling over the connections presented between faith and religion with death and pestilence. In a lot of ways, this is a film that is quite difficult to watch, but at every moment, you are sucked deeper and deeper into the violence and despair of the fourteenth century black plague. If you are capable of stomaching the violence and gore present in Black Death, I highly recommend this film to all adult audiences. It is a film that you can get a lot out of, plus it is simply a great film.

Black Death Movie Trailer

Limitless Movie Review ..

Aspiring author Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is suffering from chronic writer’s block, but his life changes instantly when an old friend introduces him to NZT, a revolutionary new pharmaceutical that allows him to tap into the full potential of his brain. With every synapse constantly on fire, Eddie can recall everything he has ever read, seen or heard, learn any language in a day, comprehend complex equations and beguile anyone he meets as long as he keeps taking the untested drug. It isn’t long before Eddie takes Wall Street by storm by parlaying a small stake into millions virtually overnight.

His accomplishments catch the eye of mega-mogul Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro) who invites him to help broker the largest merger in corporate history. But they also bring Eddie to the attention of people willing to do anything to get their hands on his stash of NZT. With his life in jeopardy and the drug’s brutal side effects grinding him down, Eddie dodges mysterious stalkers, a vicious gangster, and an intense police investigation as he attempts to hang on to his dwindling supply long enough to outwit his enemies.

Director Neil Burger, best known for The Illusionist (2006) and screenwriter Leslie Dixon have considerably lightened their bleak source novel The Dark Fields by author Alan Glynn. Lightened to the point where it has fall upon the shoulders of Bradley Cooper to bring some heft back into the project, a task he manages with evident enthusiasm. It’s actually quite strange to think that Bradley Cooper was little more than the “bad guy” in romantic comedies a few years ago, a role that he mastered, compared to Limitless where he is the lead actor standing toe to toe with our generation’s acting legend, Robert De Niro.

It’s fascinating and exhilarating to watch the transformation of Cooper’s character Eddie from a loser writer into a billionaire playboy virtually overnight. But there are more than a handful of plot holes and loss of logic that brought this film down from where it could have been. Director Neil Burger seems to simply ignore the deeper issues that Glynn obsessed about in the source novel, like thoughtless arrogance and unearned success. Instead, he raises red flags at the onset of the film by prioritizing style over substance through the use of ultracool visual tricks and classic New York settings to distract us from the script’s many flaws. Given that Eddie is considered the world’s smartest many through the use of his prescription pills, it’s actually kind of embarrassing to ignore some of the plot holes, and at the same time watch him make some very stupid decisions throughout the film.

On the plus side, the more important aspect of this film is not s much the plot, but the character development and the way that it helps to thematically show the negative aspects of humanity. As the audience becomes engaged throughout Limitless, we realise that the expansion of Eddie’s mental capacity does not lead to any corresponding growth in wisdom or imagination.

Quite the contrary because the more clearly and quickly he thinks, the shallower he becomes throughout the film. We see this time and time again as he learns to play the piano and picks up fluency in a smattering of foreign languages and high-flown cultural idioms, but these skills are mostly useful in getting women to sleep with him.

And the cultural knowledge that is most handy comes from the kung fu movies and boxing matches he suddenly remembers from childhood when he is attacked by a bunch of thugs on a subway platform one night. With all of the knowledge that is now within his grasps, he finds that the best way to use these new found skills is to acquire money and possessions rather than help those in need.

The fact is that this is a film that, like the book, is concerned with humanity in general because no one spends their energy trying to help themselves for the long run because it is far too easy to find the quick fix “miracle drug” that will instantly fix everything. The problem is that not many of us will discover that it takes far more energy to no acquire that “miracle drug” than it would to simply work towards your life goal.

While Limitless may not be the greatest film ever made, it is definitely a solid film that would be worth paying the big bucks to see at the theatre. For most people, the plot holes are little more than speed bumps on the 105 minute trip through the moral fable that is the life of Eddie Morra. The fact remains that it is a visually stunning film thanks to the directorial vision of Neil Burger, but a more solid script from Leslie Dixon could have made the film that much better.

I think the problems with the plot were derived from the adaptation of the source novel that was quite bleak, and through the adaptation changes were made to draw in a bigger audience. For the most part, all of the themes present throughout the novel are present throughout the film, but you do have to search a bit harder to find them then you ought to. Although you could say that Limitless does indeed have a limit, it is a film that is easily recommendable to a wide audience. You may even be quite surprised at the performance level that Bradley Cooper is able to produce for this film, and I quite frankly, can’t wait for his next film.

Limitless Movie Trailer

Yogi Bear Movie Review ..

There has always been something magical about Jellystone Park whether it is the majestic surroundings, beautiful river rapids that end with a gorgeous waterfall, or the talking bears sporting dress ties and bow ties. . . . Yes, that’s right! The world’s most famous talking bear Yogi (Dan Aykroyd) is Jellystone Park’s notorious trouble maker with the help of Boo Boo (Justin Timberlake), Yogi’s faithful pal and co-conspirator in his never-ending schemes to separate park visitors from their lunches. Yogi has always relied on his quick wit and fast feet to stay one step ahead of irate campers while dodging his long-suffering nemesis, Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh).

But he and Boo Boo are about to face a situation worse than anything Yogi has ever gotten them into in the past: Jellystone Park is being sold! To cover his mismanagement of city funds and fuel his election campaign for state Governor, Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) plans to sell the park to loggers. Families will no longer be able to experience the natural beauty of the outdoors that Jellystone has always provided, and even worse, Yogi and Boo Boo will be tossed out of the only home they’ve ever known. Faced with his biggest challenge ever, Yogi must prove he really is “smarter than the average bear” as he and Boo Boo join forces with Ranger Smith to find a way to save the park from closing forever.

Yogi Bear is the first live action film featuring the talking and pic-a-nic basket stealing bear since his debut as a supporting character on The Huckleberry Hound show in 1958. Over the years, Yogi and Boo Boo have been two of the most famous cartoon characters ever created, which says a lot of Hanna-Barbarra productions who created characters like The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Huckleberry Hound, and many, many more. There are many reason behind why there was never a live action film made of the classic character, the main one being that the technology to create a realistic Yogi and Boo Boo are but recent creations, but the more important, as it relates to the 2010 film release, is that the plot of most things occurring throughout the cartoon never amounted to a very complex story line.

Every cartoon was basically Yogi and Boo Boo stealing picnic baskets, everything goes wrong in their attempts, and they have to make amends to Ranger Smith. So there really shouldn’t be any big surprise that the plot of a feature film would be much of the same thing, which it actually is. So yes, Yogi Bear has a paper thin plotline, but I don’t think there is actually anything else you can do with a character whose only purpose in life is to steal campers’ lunches. But the fact remains that what we get with Yogi Bear isn’t an Oscar worthy film, but it is a very watchable film that would be great for children and families.

The one thing that did impress me with this film is the voicing talents of Dan Aykroyd who created a spot on impersonation of the original voice actor, Daws Butler, who voiced Yogi from his debut until 1988. I say impersonation, even though it was great, because when compared to the talent that Justin Timberlake showed as the voice of Boo Boo in this film, it can only be considered an impersonation. When I tried to hear the voice of Dan Aykroyed, I could hear it sounding like Yogi, but when I listened for Justin Timberlake’s voice, all I could hear was Boo Boo, which is a huge accomplishment for the guy that rarely gets credit for his acting accomplishments.

The only part of the film I didn’t really get was with the casting of a younger Ranger Smith, played by Tom Cavanagh, who doesn’t portray any of the authoritative characteristics that the Ranger Smith of the cartoon series emulated. The only other actor worth mentioning is Andrew Daly who plays the power tripping Mayor Brown trying to secure himself a future victory in the run for state Governor. Andrew Daly is hilarious and over the top as he plays the diabolical, yet simple minded, mayor in search of greater things for himself.

Sure Yogi Bear is probably one of the worst movies of 2010, but it is a great film for children and family audiences. Although the plot is paper thin at best as the characters struggle to save the park, there is a lot of great humor from the dynamic duo of Yogi and Boo Boo as Yogi tries to stay “Smarter than the average bear”. The voicing of both of the famous talking bears is spot on by Dan Aykroyed and more so by Justin Timberlake, and both of their goals are exactly what they were sixty years ago: The steal the food from the human campers.

The strange part of the film is the use of 3D technology that was a complete waste throughout the film since the only thing really in 3D is randomly splattered food. Even with all of its problems, Yogi Bear proves that he is still capable of holding an audience, even if the character is as old as he is. For children and families, I don’t think there was much for to offer in the range of family friendly live action films in 2010, and Yogi Bear is the movie that will fill that gap for you. I wouldn’t go into the film expecting an Oscar worth film, but for what it is, Yogi Bear was a fun movie that has a nice nostalgic feeling to it.

Yogi Bear Movie Trailer